All things books, all the time

Guest Post: Rejection is coming…(and dragons…maybe)

So for my first guest post in my blife (blogging life) I have decided to talk about rejection (Gasp!)

No, wait! Keep reading! It’s not all that bad…..I promise!

Rejection is inevitable as a writer…I’m sorry…it just is. Let’s all take a moment to deal with that, deep breath, and move on! Whether you’re rejected by a literary agent, a publisher, or your mum (yes! Even your mum might hate your writing! – What? She might!) it’s pretty much a done deal that someone is going to reject you once you start putting your work out to the general public – even popular authors have people who hate their books, you just can’t please everyone.

And to be honest….who cares! Screw everyone who hates what you write. You love it! I know you do! Or you wouldn’t have spent all that time writing and rewriting and rererewriting until all your hair fell out and you had to buy a wig! (This didn’t happen to me…or did it? Ponder away)

I strongly believe that if there is passion in your work then someone will love it. And I know that the ultimate dream is to make a career out of your writing, but I think accepting whatever may happen is the best option. If you truly love to write because it’s your passion then your motivation should be wanting amazing people to read your work and love it like you do! Whether that be literally five people in the whole world or a thousand or ten thousand or ten million. The point is, you want to share your writing because you want people to love it as much as you do and making any money out of it would just be a bonus!

And remember! Don’t give up! If you get rejected don’t throw your computer out of your window! (I mean, by all means go ahead but then buy a new one!)

And here’s why…. Some of THE BEST authors of our time were rejected…like, A. Thousand. Times. Seriously…

– Beatrix Potter had to publish Peter Rabbit HERSELF because no one would do so! (Peter…fluffing….rabbit, people)

– C.S. Lewis was rejected quite a bit before he sold anything! (Would you want to live in a world without the Narnia books? Who didn’t spend time as kid (or an adult) climbing into wardrobes and pawing desperately at the back of it – just me?)

– An editor once told F. Scott Fitzgerald, “You’d have a decent book if you’d get rid of that Gatsby Character.” – (Seriously!!!!)

– The Diary of Anne Frank was commented on by an editor saying, “This girl doesn’t, it seems to me, have a special perception or feeling which would lift that book above the curiosity level.” (ARGHHHFFF!!?)

– J.K Rowling was told, quite seriously, “Not to quit her day job.” (Bet that person will be crying for the rest of their days…) And if all else fails, self-publish! If you really, truly, honestly, passionately believe that your work is good enough to be out there for the world to see. Why not?

Wonderfully put! And speaking from first hand experience (I was rejected by 12 agents before going back into a rewrite), rejection isn’t all that bad. If you’re prepared for it, you’ll find that it’s a wonderful growth opportunity. And you learn so much about querying, agents, publishing, and are able to take a step back and analyze your work through someone else’s eyes.